Admin
9 March, 12:34
News

Georgia opens investigations into allegations of Iranian influence in Tbilisi.

Georgia’s intelligence agency, State Security Service, has launched a probe into several individuals over Iran’s allegedly growing influence and activities in Georgia.

Iran-Georgia ties have been the topic of discussion since the joint US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran that began on February 28. High on agenda has been the Georgian government’s attitude toward the conflict, as well as the Iran-linked business and religious entities operating in the country.

Several officials were summoned for questioning over the weekend for commenting earlier the matters. Among them are former Defence Minister and founder of the Georgian think tank Civic Idea Tinatin Khidasheli, former MP and current representative of the Soviet past research laboratory Giorgi Kandelaki, former MPs Givi Targamadze and Gubaz Sanikidze, as well as former Chief of the General Staff, Major General Vakhtang Kapanadze.

Prior to receiving the summons, nearly all of them had already been singled out by media outlets linked to the state, along with politicians from the governing party and their supporters. These actors accused them of disseminating false or misleading information that allegedly harmed Georgia’s national interests.

Khidasheli drew particular attention after remarks she made on 3 March during an appearance on the opposition-leaning broadcaster TV Pirveli. In that interview, she spoke about the Georgian branch of Al-Mustafa International University, an Iranian religious institution that the United States sanctioned in 2020, claiming it had played a role in helping recruit individuals for the Quds Force, a unit within Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, IRGC.

‘Everyone should know this clearly: it is not a university — it is a terrorists’ school, where people are trained with the mindset of “Death to America” and “Death to Israel,” she said, adding:

The development came after a US media report alleged that 72 Georgia-registered companies imported Iranian oil and petroleum products between 2022 and 2025, helping Tehran evade Western sanctions.